Stars in Battledress (band)


Stars In Battledress are an English musical duo featuring brothers Richard and James Larcombe. They are notable for their complex but tuneful compositions, their unorthodox fusion of folk music sources and British/American art rock influences, and for their intricate and allusive lyrics.
The duo have ties to other bands including North Sea Radio Orchestra, Cardiacs, The Monsoon Bassoon, Max Tundra, Admirals' Hard and Lost Crowns.

Sound

Stars In Battledress draw strongly on traditional folk sources, 1990s American art rock and the complex "psychedelic mediaeval" music of the related British bands Cardiacs and The Sea Nymphs. Though the band have displayed a reluctance to be associated directly with progressive rock, the complexity of their music and the use of expansive keyboard textures have sometimes seen them labelled as a progressive rock act: Richard Larcombe's distinctly English tenor delivery has sometimes seen him compared to Richard Sinclair.
Stars In Battledress are also notable for Richard Larcombe's literate and allusive post-modern lyrics, which span traditional topics such as love songs and social advancement while also cross-referencing more unusual subjects such as silent film, doppelgangers, historical figures such as Havelock Ellis, the English landscape painters Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable and the work of the Canadian hard-rock band Voivod.

History

Stars In Battledress prehistory

Richard Larcombe and younger brother James Larcombe grew up in a musical family in the region of Plymouth, Devon, UK. The brothers were tentative musical collaborators from a fairly young age and had always intended to take their collective work further. Richard also attended school with future musical ally Kavus Torabi.
Moving to London during the 1990s, Richard formed rock band Magnilda with himself on lead vocals and guitar - other members included future television and radio presenter Iain Lee and Cardiacs roadie "Captain" John Hook. Magnilda displayed Richard's taste for complex and witty songs using advanced harmony and tongue-in-cheek humour. Sometimes compared to mid-period XTC, they produced one cassette demo and played concerts alongside The Monsoon Bassoon and The Shrubbies. The band came to an end in late 1998/early 1999, partly due to Lee's increasing commitment to The 11 O'Clock Show. At around the same time, James Larcombe was attending the University of Oxford.

1999-2002: formation and early years

Upon James' graduation and subsequent move to London in 1999, he and Richard formed Stars In Battledress, naming themselves after the British military entertainment organisation. Unsuited to the environment of touring rock bands or indeed most rock venues, Stars In Battledress concentrated on playing small or acoustic-orientated venues where their drum-less lineup would work better.. The Larcombes had by now befriended their old musical hero - Cardiacs leader Tim Smith - and he was later to produce the recording sessions for their debut album.
Along with members of Foe, Ursa and The Monsoon Bassoon, the Larcombes became involved in setting up the small House Of Stairs record label. Their first appearance on record – the instrumental "Sand ", described as "a beautiful dance of fluent piano and autoharp" by Evophonic - appeared on the label's 2002 compilation Useless In Bed Vol. 1.

2003-2009: ''Secrets And Signals'' and subsequent hiatus

In 2003 this was followed by the debut Stars In Battledress album, Secrets And Signals, which received favourable reviews in the underground press. Aural Innovations recommended the album to "those who enjoy a theatrical flair to their music" and described it as "a sometimes rich, sometimes sparse tapestry of progressive chamber pop", also noting its "lush, dreamy, fantasy quality". Ink19, noting the band's "ethereal and distinctly English" quality concluded "one has to be impressed with the talent and skill that the brothers Lancombe bring to this release with their considerable abilities... Yet, for all their technical ability and prowess, this album remains one that fails to connect emotionally." Pop Matters noted that "there is a richness and intelligent approach to each and every track" while cautioning that the album is "very pretty in some respects, but... lacks small intangibles in others."
Following the album release, Stars In Battledress played occasional live concerts. They initially planned to follow up the album with an EP called Story Of The Hood Tapes, Vol. 1, but this was eventually shelved. In the event, it would be eight years before they released a follow-up to Secrets And Signals, with the Larcombes concentrating on other projects in the meantime.

2010-present: return to work and ''In Droplet Form''

In 2010, Stars in Battledress broke their silence by contributing a cover version of the Cardiacs song "Foundling" to the Tim Smith fundraising album The Leader of the Starry Skies. In 2011, this was followed by "Fluent English", the first new Stars In Battledress material in eight years, which was included on The Central Element.
In June 2014, Stars in Battledress released their second full-length album on the Believer's Roast label, In Droplet Form, which they promoted with a number of live shows in and around London, as well as uploading a series of performances filmed at Westminster Kingsway College to YouTube. The album combined songs that had been played in their live sets for many years, such as "Fluent English", "Buy One Now", "Mewstone Avenue" and "Hollywood Says So", along with more recent material such as "Unmatchable Bride", first premièred live in 2011.
The album received generally positive reviews from online and print media sources. Joe Banks of The Quietus described it as "tapping into something unique and undefinable," and "a genuinely mysterious album...like stepping into a haunted room never to return again." Prog Magazine called it "wittily experimental without being overbearing," while Uncut highlighted the album's debt to the Canterbury scene.
Since the release of In Droplet Form, Stars in Battledress have continued to play intermittent and occasional concerts.

Related projects and associations (including Defeat the Young and Lost Crowns)

The Larcombes have been regular members of William D. Drake's live band since the early 2000s, and performed on his 2011 album The Rising Of The Lights. Both brothers are or have been members of the contemporary music ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra, and the sea-shanty band Admirals’ Hard. In 2008, Richard and James Larcombe contributed remixes to Max Tundra’s download-only covers album Best Friends in 2008.
Parallel with early Stars in Battledress work, the Larcombes were involved in another project called Defeat The Young - similar in scope to Stars in Battledress but firmly under Richard's control and with a stronger theatrical/music hall factor. With Richard in exclusive charge of songwriting and singing, James played hurdy-gurdy and various keyboards while other contributors included Paul Westwood, composer Terry Mann and Mark Braby. The band released a single eponymous three-song EP which initially came out on the "Four Seasons Singles Club – Summer 2001" box set and was subsequently issued separately by the band. A fourth song appeared on the House of Stairs Useless In Bed Vol. 1 2002 compilation. The band played several London dates but then ceased activity.
Also in 2002, Richard Larcombe played bass with Kavus Torabi's short-lived post-Monsoon Bassoon project Miss Helsinki.
James Larcombe currently plays keyboards for revived British psychedelic rock band Zag And The Coloured Beads. He is also a member of Arch Garrison, the solo vehicle of North Sea Radio Orchestra frontman Craig Fortnam, and plays on the 2014 album I Will Be A Pilgrim.
Richard Larcombe's latest project outside Stars in Battledress is Lost Crowns, for which he once again writes all the material. The band has made two appearances to date with a London debut planned for January 2018. Other Lost Crown band members have included Charlie Cawood, Rhodri Marsden, Josh Perl and Nicola Baigent.

Discography

Stars In Battledress